Page 59 of The Rejected Omega
“I was just thinking about us. High school. Cassandra.” It’s close enough to the truth.
“Stop. You’re upsetting yourself.”
This is a day of historic firsts, so I let slip a question that’s plagued me for the past three years.
“Do you regret it?”
Connor stops walking.
“You’re going to need to be more specific. I’ve done a lot worth regretting.”
“That night.”
He’s silent for several long seconds. It feels like a small eternity.
“Yes.”
No explanation. No elaboration. Justyes.
This is what I got for not asking open-ended questions.
We continue to walk in silence. My throat is parched, but I don’t say anything to Connor. He’ll want to turn back, and I’m not ready to get back in an enclosed space with him.
He lobs the next ball.
“Why haven’t you gone to a heat center? Had someone assist you?”
I freeze. The forest goes silent around us. He stops moving, too.
“Because it’s fucking terrifying, okay? Intimacy with a stranger, during such a vulnerable time, when I haven’t—haven’t even?—”
“Haven’t what, Birdy?”
He didn’t know? I felt like I walked around with a neon sign on my chest flashingVIRGIN.
“I haven’t been with anyone.”
Connor’s inhale is ragged. “Oh.”
“Yeah,oh.”
He walks up behind me and rests his chin on top of my head. His fingers trail down my arms.
“Once upon a time, you trusted me with that duty. Do you still trust me, Birdy?”
I can’t get enough air. Something claws inside my chest, trying to break free.
“What are you saying?”
"Spend your heat with me. I'll take care of you. You won’t have anything to be afraid of.”
My heart thunders in my chest. He’s thinking about my heat and how I don’t have an alpha’s cock to ride through it. How that could be him—knotting me, spilling inside me, claiming me like he should have three years ago. I fail to strangle the spike of lust that flares between my thighs.
Is he suggesting we be heat partners, friends with benefits, or something more? The idea sends my body into a panic.
Connor doesn’t miss it. I can tell from the way his body goes stiff against my back. By the subtle shifts in his scent.
“Say yes.”
